Sydney's tandoori chicken, fired the right way.
A real coal-and-clay tandoor. 450°C from 5pm. Chicken marinated overnight in hung yoghurt, mustard oil and Punjabi spices. Six tandoori variants on the menu — and a decade of getting the char right.
Bhatti Da Murg
Punjab, IndiaThe King of the Kebabs. Bone-in chicken marinated overnight in hung yoghurt, mustard oil, ginger, garlic and Punjabi masala. Fired until the skin chars and the meat falls clean off the bone.
Punjabi by Nature
Amritsar, IndiaThe classic tandoori tikka — boneless thigh in yoghurt and mustard-oil marinade with aromatic Punjabi spice. Bright, smoky, unmistakably tandoor.
Murg Kesari Tikka
Mughal kitchensSaffron-stained boneless chicken, delicately spiced. Subtler than Punjabi tikka — built for the saffron, not against it.
Myrah Malai Tikka
House specialTender fillets in cream, hung yoghurt, cashew and a whisper of cheese. White, soft, barely-spiced — the tandoor cousin you eat slowly.
Abeer-e-Surkh
Chef's ownHot. The chef's red marinade — not for the faint-hearted. Heat, smoke and a long finish.
Hariyali Chooza
North IndiaBoneless chicken in coriander, mint chutney and English spinach. Green, herbaceous, slow-roasted.
Clay, coal, and time.
Most tandoori chicken in Sydney is baked in a gas oven, painted red and called tandoori. Ours is fired in a real coal-and-clay tandoor — the same vertical pit you'd find in a Punjabi village kitchen — heated with coals until the walls glow. Chicken is skewered raw and dropped in vertically. Fat drips onto the coals; the smoke rises back through the meat. That smoke is the dish.
Marinades are overnight, twice. First a salt-and-acid cure with lemon and ginger-garlic. Then a yoghurt marinade with mustard oil, Kashmiri chilli, and a masala we pound the morning of service. No food colouring. The red is paprika and the char is from the fire.
That's why the Hills drives to Bella Vista for it.
"Bhatti Da Murg is bone-in for a reason — the bone protects the meat from the direct 450°C wall. Order the boneless tikka if you're rushing, the whole bird if you're not."
— Head Chef · Kebabiya Bella Vista
Order it like a Punjabi table.
Garlic naan
View →The Punjabi bread for a Punjabi kebab. Slapped into the same tandoor while your chicken hangs.
Butter chicken
View →Tandoori chicken is literally the base of butter chicken. Order both — the char before the gravy.
Chicken tikka (boneless)
View →The faster cousin. Same marinade, no bone, more char per bite — order alongside for the full tandoor experience.
All Indian kebabs
View →Build a mixed grill — seekh, lamb chops, malai and tandoori on one platter.
When to order it.
- ·First tandoor visit — the dish the pit was invented for
- ·Punjabi family Fridays and Vaisakhi dinners
- ·Group starters — one whole bird, four skewers, feeds four before mains
- ·Corporate lunch drops — halves reheat cleanly on a low pan
- ·Kids' birthday parties (bone-in for adults, boneless for kids)
What our regulars build the table with.
Bhatti Da Murg (whole) + garlic naan + jeera rice + dal makhani
The Punjabi Friday night. Whole bird, breads, rice, slow-cooked lentils — the standard for a reason.
Tandoori half + butter chicken + Kashmiri naan + Kingfisher
The char-then-gravy classic. Same protein, opposite treatment, one table.
Tandoori chicken + lamb chops + seekh + hariyali paneer + naan basket
The mixed grill for four — the platter that leaves nothing on the plate.
Ready to eat? Choose your channel.
Direct orders are cheapest — no platform fees. Call (02) 8824 7944 for large groups or catering.
Tandoori chicken questions.
- Where can I find the best tandoori chicken in Sydney?
- Kebabiya in Bella Vista has been firing tandoori chicken in a real coal-and-clay tandoor since 2014. Our Bhatti Da Murg — bone-in, marinated overnight in yoghurt, ginger and Punjabi spices — is widely considered one of the best tandoori chickens in Sydney's Hills District.
- Is your tandoori chicken halal?
- Every piece of chicken we cook is halal-sourced from certified suppliers, end-to-end since 2014. The venue is fully licensed (so not formally Halal-certified), but no non-halal meat crosses our pass.
- Do you cook in a real tandoor?
- Yes — a traditional coal-and-clay tandoor at 450°C. The smoke, the char and the aroma come from coals under a clay pot, not a gas oven or convection.
- How long does tandoori chicken take?
- Bhatti Da Murg (bone-in) hangs in the pit for about eight minutes and rests two more. Boneless tandoori variants come off in five. That's why we skewer to order rather than pre-cook — timing decides the dish.
- Can I order tandoori chicken for delivery?
- Order direct from kebabiya.com.au (no platform fees) or via Uber Eats and DoorDash. Free direct delivery over $60 across Norwest, Castle Hill, Kellyville, Baulkham Hills and Cherrybrook.
Book a table or order in.
Dine in at Sky City Bella Vista, or order tandoori chicken for delivery across Sydney's Hills District.